Mumbai: Teen takes neighbour's car for a spin, crashes into pole

Worli police said boy took the car without neighbour’s knowledge; police book father as well

The Honda Civic that the boy crashed into a light pole on Friday night

A 17-year-old Worli resident, who had ‘borrowed’ his neighbour’s car for a spin with a friend late Friday night, ended up crashing it into a light pole some distance from his residence. While the boy was unhurt, his friend suffered minor injuries. The police have booked both the boy and his father, who runs a textile business. The police said the boy was not drunk at the time of the accident.

The police said the Honda Civic is owned by the boy’s neighbour at Universal Heights, Nana Chowk, and his father, Manish Khimavat, had allegedly borrowed it to visit the doctor. At around 2 am, the boy, a commerce student from KC College, told his father he was going to park the car, but drove it out of the building along with a friend.

They were hoping to drive to Bandra and back, but at Worli Naka, the boy saw a man crossing the road and swerved to avoid him. In the process, he lost control of the wheel and crashed the car into a light pole. A political poster hanging on the pole crashed onto the car. “The left side of the car has been completely damaged in the incident and the boy’s friend suffered minor injuries,” said Pravin Padwal, deputy commissioner of police, Zone III. “We arrested the boy but he was granted bail by the Bhoiwada court on Saturday morning. His father, too, has been booked on charges of negligence under the Motor Vehicle Act and has been granted bail,” said Virag Parkar, senior inspector, Worli police station.

The boy has been booked under sections 336, for endangering life or personal safety of others, 337, for causing hurt, 279, for rash driving or riding on a public way and 427, for mischief causing damage to the amount of R50. The father has been booked under the Motor Vehicle Act 180, allowing unauthorised persons to drive vehicle.